The songs of Fakira, a non-Rajshri hit film released the same as year as Chitchor, highlight this difference. Ravindra Jain’s music for Rajshri‘s films was markedly different from his music for other studios, in that it was more mellow and less mainstream. No matter which song you pick, Chitchor is a case study of how simple, melodious music can enhance a film’s entertainment value. Yesudas was equally effective in the two solos ‘Aaj Se Pehle Aaj Se Zyada’ and ‘Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara’ and won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the latter. Ravindra Jain leveraged Yesudas’ classical singing prowess wonderfully and gave two stunning semi-classical beauties ‘Jab Deep Jale Aana’ based on Raag Yaman and ‘Tu Jo Mere Sur Mein’ (based on Raag Pilu I believe). However, Ravindra Jain gets the credit for making Yesudas a mainstream name in Hindi films with the brilliant singer featuring in all the four songs of the film. Salil Chowdhury, who composed music for over two dozen Malayalam films, brought Yesudas over to Hindi films in Chhoti Si Baat (1975), another Amol Palekar film.
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Chitchor was easily the best Rajshri Productions- Ravindra film bucking the trend of action films in Bollywood. At a time like this, films by Rajshri Productions became an oasis of light entertainers about ordinary people with mellow, soulful music. Post Sholay (1975), the Hindi film industry enthusiastically embraced the Angry Young Man and the action-drama genre and music in films started getting marginalised. My pick from the film is ‘Shyam Teri Bansi Pukare Radha Naam’, a bhajan mirroring the film’s situation, sung by Jaspal Singh and Aarti Mukherji. Ravindra Jain’s music for Geet Gata Chal brought mainstream glory to a hitherto unknown singer, Jaspal Singh- a feat he would repeat the next year with Yesudas. Featuring former child artists Sachin and Sarika in lead roles for the first time, the film became a hit largely because of its music, a blend of bhajans, light classical and folk tunes. Over time, Ravindra Jain enhanced his worth for Rajshri Films by helping films succeed simply based on his score. Although this young talent couldn’t make it big in Hindi films, she was eventually rewarded with a National Award for ‘Do Naina Aur Ek Kahani’ ( Masoom, 1983). I particularly enjoy the fresh voice of Aarti Mukherji harmonising with Kishore Kumar in the song. The latter, a song about a couple beginning a new life together, is heart-warming and my favourite. Two songs in Tapasya help secure its place in this list- the Kishore solo ‘Jo Raah Chuni Tune Usi Raah Pe Raahi Chalte Jaana Re’ and the duet by Kishore Kumar and Aarti Mukherji ‘Do Panchhi Do Tinke’. Tapasya was a moderately successful, award-winning film based on a story by Bengali novelist Ashapurna Devi. My pick from the film is ‘Ghunghroo Ki Tarah Bajta Hi Raha Hoon Main’ a song written by Ravindra Jain himself. The song ‘Le Jayenge Le Jayenge Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, penned by Inderjeet Singh Tulsi, gained iconic status as it became a fixture in baaraats and inspired the title of Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster hit and arguably Bollywood’s most successful film to date, Jayenge Le Jayenge Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, penned by Inderjeet Singh Tulsi, gained iconic status as it became a fixture in baaraats and inspired the title of Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster hit and arguably Bollywood’s most successful film to date, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. In Chor Machaye Shor, Ravindra Jain produced a mainstream score and was rewarded with mass acclaim. My pick from the album is the Doordarshan staple, ‘Sajna Hai Mujhe Sajna Ke Liye’ sung by Asha Bhosle, but the film had a few other underrated beauties, including Kishore’s ‘Har Hasin Cheez Ka Main Talabgar Hoon’, Lata’s ‘Tera Mera Saath Rahe’ and Manna Dey’s ‘Door Hai Kinara’. Saudagar cemented Ravindra Jain’s partnership with Rajshri Productions and led to successful films/albums like Chitchor, Geet Gata Chal and many more. Although it wasn’t a commercial success when released, the film and its music gained popularity over time.
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Saudagar, featuring Amitabh Bachchan before he became a superstar, was Ravindra Jain’s first significant album. To commemorate his 72 nd birth anniversary on February 28-the first after his demise in October 2015-I list ten of his best film albums. (Ravi did write lyrics for some of his songs but was a backup lyricist at best.) Ravindra Jain’s tunes were often earthy and steeped in traditional Indian music forms- classical, bhajan and folk music. Although known primarily for his music and his singing, he was the only Hindi film music director who also wrote lyrics for most of his songs. Ravindra Jain was an enormously talented artist.